A Lot Can Happen In A Year
by hxneybun
Summary: A year in the life of Harry and Draco as they prepare for their wedding and celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and holidays and such. This is written in real time, so the year they are living is 2014. Enjoy!
1. Christmas Can Wait

Christmas Can Wait

Disclaimer: I do not own anything and no profit is made from this.

-x-

_Draco, it's nine-thirty on Christmas Eve for Merlin's sake! Stop being childish and COME HOME – or no presents for you._

_HP._

Harry hoped the threat in the letter was enough to persuade Draco to stop sulking and leave Pansy's.

Harry huffed as he re-read the letter and proceeded to roll it up. Readily waiting from dropping the previous four letters to Pansy's flat, Harry's owl Tolkien sat on the window sill, eager to please. The large grey owl held its own against the memories of Hedwig and proved itself a necessity in Harry's life; plus it was quite cute.

As Tolkien flew off into the night with Harry's final attempt at a 'reconciliation' - of sorts - the weary man fell into his sofa. Looking around his living room, he felt at home; the decorations, put up by Draco of course, filled the room with glitter, warmth and happiness. However, without Draco there, the beautiful room felt like it had a 'wanker-shaped' hole right in the centre. Harry couldn't deny that he missed Draco all of the time, even when the ferret was off sulking somewhere.

Ten minutes after the message had been sent, Tolkien was back, fluttering by the closed window. Harry rose to let the bird in from the cold and retrieve his apparent reply. 'HP' was all it said on the front; he flipped it over to reveal Pansy's ghastly purple seal - obviously from Draco. Breaking the seal, Harry opened the letter.

_Childish am I?_

Suddenly, a puff of white powder attacked Harry's face, sending him into a coughing fit. He ran into the bathroom and inspected his face in the mirror. The powder had clearly been some sort of jinx because Harry now had a fully made-up face!

As if on cue, the front door opened, paused, and then closed.

"You always sign your owls so formally. It insults my intelligence that you think I can't distinguish your scrawl from everyone else's. Considering I see you naked on a regular basis, you'd think you'd just put 'Harry'."

Upon hearing Draco's loud voice, Harry walked away from his 'pretty' face in the mirror and made his way into the living room. As he entered, Draco looked at him and started to chuckle.

"Ah, I see you got my reply then."

"Think this is funny do you?" Harry half-wished the prat had stayed out.

Draco's eyes travelled up and down Harry's body, and then a sly smile spread across his face. "Yes actually. I suggest you don't call me childish next time or I'll put you in a dress too."

"Fuck off," was all Harry said as he bent down towards the fireplace to consult Hermione on his current 'situation'.

Seeing that Harry was in no mood to mock argue, Draco walked into the bedroom of their modestly-sized flat. The bedroom's walls were dark grey and the brilliant white fairy lights on the headboard of their queen-sized bed – run by magic seeing as Draco had an irrational fear of electricity – twinkled against the gloss paint. On the black silk sheets of the bed, lay a single box, wrapped in metallic green paper.

"That's your main present. I thought I'd let you open it tonight because of your persistent badgering. Although with what you did tonight, I'm considering on throwing it away."

Draco heard Harry's voice loud and clear, although it could have been in a different house for all he took notice of it. He was mesmerised by the flickering of the lights bouncing off of the box. He picked it up with both hands and let it rest in his palms in front of his chest. He looked over his shoulder, careful not to jilt the gift.

"Can I?" It came out almost like a whisper.

"I don't see why not. This make-up has made my skin feel quite soft actually," the dark haired man replied.

Draco could hear Harry laughing quietly to himself but took no notice. He lifted one hand to the golden bow that was on top the box and pulled one strand until the ribbon fell to the bed. Putting one finger under the rim of the paper, he removed the green sheath in one swift motion. He gasped as he revealed the beautiful mahogany box in his hands. His fingers found their way over the top and discovered that the top of the box was engraved with an intricate design. Draco lifted the top and found that the inside was lined with green velvet, had a place for jewellery and had a mirror fitted into the lid; he was surprised to see the single tear that fell down his face. There was a note in the jewellery compartment. He set the box down softly on the bed and opened the note.

_To my beautiful Draco at Christmastime,_

_I found this box at a market in France and instantly thought of you. However, I took it to your mother and father's for inspection and they said they'd make it perfect for you. This was the end result. Your mother was insistent that you'd like it, do you? Now I know you don't wear that much jewellery but I know that you'll be getting some soon and I wanted you to be able to keep it safe. I hope you like it; the perfect thing for my perfect love. I love you. Merry Christmas Draco._

_From your Chosen One._

_PS – Turn around when you've finished reading this._

Draco hitched a breath and turned around. "Harry I don..." Draco trailed off as he saw Harry kneeling beneath him.

"Draco."

Draco could feel the tears pouring from his face as he stared down into the eyes of the man he loved. He wiped his eyes and half laughed and half sobbed at himself. "So this is what you meant by 'getting more jewellery' – how typical."

Harry laughed and took Draco's hands in his own. "Draco, I love you more than anything and I want to spend every Christmas, every Easter, every Halloween and every other day and night with you beside me. Will you keep a scarred war veteran happy and marry me?" He then let one of Draco's hands fall and reached into his pocket to retrieve a tiny box covered in the same green velvet from the inside of the jewellery box, and presented the box to Draco.

Draco looked down at the box, took it in his hand and inspected the outside. He sniffed and then laughed. "Will you ever give up with this green motif?"

He opened the box and saw two identical rings nestled in the inside of the box. Tiny diamonds had been set in the platinum bands and in the middle of each lay a black diamond the size of a large peppercorn. They were stunning.

"Two?"

"You didn't think I wouldn't get one for myself did you? Equal relationships and all." Harry winked at his blond lover, "so what do you say?"

"Well, now I've found out you have a penchant for fine jewellery, how could I refuse."

With that, Harry jumped to his feet and took Draco into his arms. He looked into his boyfriend's – his fiancé's – eyes and smiled.

"You've made me very happy you know. And my skin feels as smooth as baby Rose's skin."

Draco was still crying and coughed out a chuckled. "Shut up you absolute fool."

Draco leaned into Harry and kissed him. It was a slow, romantic kiss. Draco could feel Harry's smile still on his face, which made him smile also. Their fingers intertwined in between their two chests and rest right where their hearts were currently swelling with love inside of them.

After a few minutes, Draco broke away from the kiss, hindered by Harry biting his lip. The former Gryffindor frowned.

"My kisses not good enough for you now aye?"

"Don't be dim; they're my second favourite thing."

"Then why did you pull away, fiancé?" Harry's smile returned as he felt the last word fall out of his mouth naturally.

"Because my first favourite thing is fine jewellery and I want to put my ring on! It is Christmas after all." Draco gave a cheeky smile and nodded towards the bed where the ring box had fallen to amidst their kissing session.

"Spoilt children never change," Harry tutted and then kissed Draco lightly on the lips. "Okay, we'll put the rings on. And then I'm going to make you sit and watch 'The Grinch' with me."

Draco made a disgusted face and stepped back from Harry's embrace. "I do not understand your obsession with those muggle Christmas films, but I'll endure them, because I love you and my present is nowhere as good as yours. Maybe I'll order you some make-up since you love how it makes your skin feel." Draco raised an eyebrow as a sly smile spread across his face.

"You do whatever you like honey, but I'm going to make some hot chocolate and sing some songs."

Harry went to walk out of the bedroom when Draco cleared his throat. Harry turned and leaned against the doorframe.

"Yes Draco?"

"Are you going to put the ring on for me or am I going to have to do it myself?"

"Do it yourself and then you can put mine on me, considering I proposed and all." Harry then turned around and walked out of the room. He could hear Draco mumbling to himself about how 'lazy and narcissistic' Harry apparently was.

He chuckled and called out. "Merry Christmas Draco, I love you."

Harry waited for a few moments and then heard a distinctive reply:

"Merry Christmas Harry, although it may not have been if this ring didn't look perfect on my finger and your bum wasn't so perfect."

"And?"

"I love you very much."

-x-

A/N: So that was cute AW. This fic is dedicated to my friends Ella and Charlie because, basically, I love them and they're like the only friends I know that read fic so yeah. Merry Christmas guys.


	2. Valentine's Study

A/N: Now I've decided to write a whole year in the life of Harry and Draco, obviously starting with Christmas Can Wait and then with this. A few details of the timeline: the epilogue never happened, Harry and Draco are 33 years old (real time) and Hermione had Rose around September 2013 (I know she was born in 2006 in canon but idc). I hope you enjoy this little project, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything and no profit is made from this.

-x-

"Did you know that a traditional 'love heart' shape is based on either a woman's backside when bent over or the shape of the labia when it's opened out?"

Harry raised his head from the book in his hands to look at his lover, who was staring back intently, waiting for an answer. He then put his head back down and carried on reading.

"When I told you to look for something interesting related to Valentine's Day, I meant like a popular restaurant or a sleazy hotel people visit, not the origins of the love heart. Do you even know what labia are?" Harry spoke without lifting his head.

Draco looked over to where Harry was sitting on the arm chair: book open in one hand, a cup of tea in the other. "Of course I know what labia are. Just because I don't sleep with women, doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant to their genitalia," Draco drawled.

He looked back at his laptop screen, genuinely interested in what he had stumbled upon. "Wait wait, listen to this theory," he said excitedly. Harry sighed and looked towards the blond haired man. "'The traditional shape of the 'love heart', which is most commonly associated with relationships and Valentine's Day, is modelled on what two anatomical hearts would look like if stitched together.' I like that one."

Harry looked at Draco quizzically. He leaned forward to put his cup and his book, still open, onto the coffee table. "Why? Why do you need to like one these theories? Can't you just accept the other ones as well, even though you don't like them?" Harry had a slight smile on his lips, in a playful, mocking manner.

Draco continued to click down the page with his brow furrowed, missing Harry's expression. "Oi you, I do accept the former theories, it's just that I thought that something that represents love should be universal and not based on a male's voyeuristic obsession with a woman's body. As a man engaged to another man, I thought you'd agree with me. Clearly that Weasley girl left her mark etched in your brain when you pounded her after the war." Draco looked up at Harry, fluttered his eyelashes and blew a kiss towards his fiancé.

Harry sat forward and put his elbows on his knees. He then put his head in his hands and groaned. "I sincerely regret telling you about that now," he mumbled. He cringed at the thought of the amount of sweaty, young sex he and Ginny had had after the war and how he thought they were in love and how she always wondered why Harry took her from behind. When he had finally called it off with her, mainly because she found his gay porn, and told her that he was gay, she cried and told him she knew, she just chose to ignore it because she knew it was right for them to be together. Harry told her that she deserved someone that she could fall in love with, not fall in love with the idea of being with. She had accepted this and they were now closer than ever, like brother and sister, how it should be. But that didn't mean that Harry wanted to be teased about his heterosexual misdemeanours mercilessly that happened sixteen years ago.

Looking towards Harry, Draco closed his laptop and placed it on the sofa next to him. He stood up and walked towards Harry, who was still bent over with his eyes closed. Harry felt a presence so he moved his elbows from his knees and bent further over so his chest was on his lap and his fingertips grazed the monochrome rug that was placed under the coffee table, in front of the fireplace.

Not liking being shut out, Draco crossed his arms and huffed. "Look, we all have things we regret. I nearly had sex with Pansy for Merlin's sake! Suck it up Potter, I want you to read to me." Harry didn't move an inch; the only movement that came from him was the subtle rise and fall of his chest from his soft breathing. "If you read to me, I'll suck you off later." Draco smiled to himself as Harry sat back up and stretched.

"You know you're basically prostituting yourself out just so you can get what you want," Harry said, looking up at his fiancé, "not that I'm complaining."

"Yeah yeah chosen one, move over. What are you reading anyway?"

"A muggle book about two lovers being reunited five years after he went away for war. She's married to another man and has a baby though, so it's complicated."

Draco sat in the dip between Harry's crossed legs and let his gangly limbs hang over the other arm of the chair while putting his head on Harry's shoulder. "Oh so a happy story then," Draco said sarcastically.

"Do you want me to read to you or not?"

So Draco stopped talking and focused on the regular rhythm of Harry's heartbeat. Harry, with his book in hand, carried on reading from where he had stopped earlier.

"'He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.'"

Harry stopped reading and looked at Draco's pale face. He had his eyes closed but his face held a happy expression, like he was dreaming of something beautiful.

"This sounds like gay erotica to be honest. Why have you stopped reading?"

The pink of the insides of Draco's lips invited Harry to kiss his partner. Harry put down his book and stroked Draco's face. Draco opened his eyes and began to open his mouth but when he saw the lust and admiration in Harry's eyes, he stopped and looked down. And then he looked up through his eyelashes and smiled.

"You have one of those smiles. Oh I do love it when you smile," Harry whispered and he ran his thumb across Draco's bottom lip. He then put his hand under his lover's jaw and pulled him towards his own lips. When their lips met, Harry found some urgency and used his other arm that was trapped underneath Draco's body to pull the blond's torso towards him, making their chests touch.

Draco, now caught up in the moment, lets his hand wander towards Harry's hair and make nest there. Harry loved the closeness and wanted to be closer still. His tongue entered Draco's mouth and roamed around until it found its partner in crime. A moan of ecstasy escaped from Draco's lips and then he bit down on Harry's tongue. Harry's head jerked back. The moment was over.

"What the fuck Draco?"

"I haven't even got my present yet and you think you're going have your way with me? I don't think so big boy."

Draco rose from Harry's lap and went to kneel in front of the fireplace. He picked up some floo powder and chucked it into the pit.

"Cupid's Comfort!"

Harry let Draco do whatever he was doing and went over to the kitchen to nurse his bleeding tongue. He ran the tap and stuck his head under the spout.

"Harry, food's here."

Harry turned off the tap and wiped his face with the back on his hand. His tongue didn't hurt at all now, it was numb instead. "I'm not hungry. Do you want your present?"

Draco all but forgot about the food and ran over from his seat on the sofa and stood in front of Harry. "Yes please fiancé."

Without another word, Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and apparated away.

A moment later, they were standing in a room, with a high ceiling with pieces of mismatched furniture. The whole thing gave off a scent of 'expensive'. Draco opened his eyes as soon as he realised they had landed and broke out of the grip Harry had on him.

"Where are we?"

"We are at our new home."

Draco's head whipped around towards Harry faster than a seeker that had spotted the snitch.

"Excuse me?" He barely got the words past his teeth.

"You heard me. This is your Valentine's Day present. I bought a house." Harry's voice echoed through the room. "I thought we could use a bigger place since we're getting married and um…"

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and kissed him softly. "This is the best present I've ever got and ever will get." His face changed from affectionate to sour. "Why do you always have to outdo my presents? What with Christmas and all, my presents are pointless!" He kissed the black haired man again and then released his embrace. Taking hold of Harry's hand, Draco stared at the room. They stood in companionable silence for a few moments, just staring into what seemed to be their future.

"My Easter present is going to be amazing."

"Draco, I love you, but shut up. Easter isn't until the end of April. Just enjoy what we have now." Harry squeezed Draco's hand.

Sighing reluctantly, Draco let any thought about Easter vanish from his mind.

"I know what we can enjoy now…" Draco looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow, seductively. Harry stared at him expectantly.

Suddenly, Draco ran towards the side of the room they were currently in, towards the stairs, taking Harry with him.

"You better hope there's a bed up there Potter, or your back is going to ache!"

-x-

A/N 2: I hoped you liked it! The passage that Harry read was from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald just because I'm studying it at the moment in my English Lit class. As you probably guessed, I'm going to be writing an Easter fic (ahhhhh) and probably going to carry this on throughout the year, even their wedding (bigger ahhhhhh)! Let me know what you think and stuff and Happy Valentine's Day!


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